Under the Willow tree
by mazipoto
Summary: Please excuse the extremely CHEESY title! ok...Summer after Gof (SPOILERS!). Harry is having a hard time getting over certain events and is quite depressed. Ginny is the only one who seems to notice. as always... R&R!!!!


Something was wrong with him. I could tell. I knew it from the moment he arrived at our house in early August. He just...wasn't himself. I mean, the other day, Ron asked him if he wanted to play Quidditch and when he said no, I KNEW something was wrong. Since when did Harry pass up the chance to play Quidditch? He also seemed to spend alot of time by himself. His new faveorite place seemed to be sitting under the giant Willow tree in our backyard. I also had the suspicion that he wasn't sleeping very well. He always looked tired and had dark circles under his eyes.  
  
I sat there, watching him through the wire screen of our porch. He was just staring out into nowhere, a blank, expressionless, look on his face. The sun was just beginning to set. The pale blue sky was slowly blending to a soft pink. Something strange came over me. I had the sudden urge to go and talk to him. Maybe, just maybe, I could find out what had been torchering him these long summer nights. But I wouldn't go unarmed. I scanned our kitchen and my eyes fell on the cookie jar. My mum makes the world's BEST cookies. I ripped off a paper towel and grabbed 3 or 4 cookies from the jar. I slipped out the screen door, checking that noone saw me. I walked across our back lawn, the soft summer grass rubbing against my feet. Orange was beginning to make an appearance in the sky and crickets were chirpping softly in the distance.  
  
"Hey," I said quietly as I approached him. He started.  
  
"Oh, um... hey, Ginny," he said dully. The right corner of his mouth twitched up softly in a fake smile that I could see right through.  
  
"I um, thought you might be, er, hungry?" I held out the paper towel with cookies on it. He took them gratefully and put them on the grass beside him. "Mind if I...join you?" I said uncertainly. He scooted over a bit, and I sat down. There was an akward silence as he still stared into space.  
  
"You wanna talk about it?" I said softly, looking at him.  
  
"There's nothing to talk about," he said, gazing at his shoes. Then I very faintly heard him breathe the words: Cedric... It's all my fault... I could believe it. After all the long months, he still blamed him self for Cedric's death. I was pretty sure many people tried to ensure him that it wasn't his fault, but he was so stubborn he would never believe them.  
  
"Harry..." I said quietly, placing a hand on his elbow. He looked at me, and that's when I noticed it. His eyes had seemed to have lost that mischeivious twinkle they always had in them. I also realized that I hadn't seen him really smile since before the 3rd task. "It's not your fault." I knew in an instant that he didn't believe me. He looked away, a sadness in his eyes. He was only 15, yet he carried such a weight on his shoulders. Tentatively, I reached a hand up, and pulled his face to look at me. "Harry, listen. Things happen that we can't do anything about. I know it feels like it's your fault but it's not. You need to accept things as they come at you, and learn to deal with them. Cedric wouldn't want you to be sulking around, he would want you to...be playing Quidditch, or having fun! This whole thing is eating you up! You lost this glint in your eyes, and you used to have this beautiful smile that I-"  
  
"I smile..." he said, doing his best to force one.  
  
"Not like you used to," I continued. "Harry, you can't let what You- know-who did get to you like this. You're just letting him win, and that's giving him what he wants," I stopped and took a breath. Harry was still looking at me. Then, he smiled. That REAL smile that I told you about. "There ya go..." I said, returning the grin.  
  
"Thanks," he said quietly.  
  
He laughed a little and looked back at me. Our eyes seemed to lock together. I saw his mouth open slightly and his eyes glance down at my lips. He then flushed a soft red color and shrank back a little. With a trembling hand, I reached up and softly touched his cheek. My fingertips were burning. He seemed to take this as some sort of consent, and leaned forward and softly pressed his lips against mine. Warm, tingling feelings spread through my body, and I felt his arm sneak around my back. We both pulled away reluctantly, completely breathless,  
  
"I just... hope...Ron didn't... see that..." I said smiling. Harry grinned back.  
  
"Well, too bad for Ron," Harry whispered, as he leaned his forehead against mine. I felt his nose brush gently against mine. Was this really happening? My whole body was trembling. "Because he's gonna have to get used to it." I laughed. Did he mean that?  
  
"And what, pretell, Mr. Potter, do you mean by that?" He reached up and touched my cheek softly. He took a deep breath and said,"Ginny, would you be my girlfriend?" I couldn't believe it. The famous Harry Potter, was in love with me. This had to be the most amazing night of my life.  
  
"Do you need an answer?" I whispered quietly, and once again, we kissed.  
  
  
  
A/N: that's a romance I'll never have! Review please!  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Read my profile 


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